


Take Care

by liaw-mostlydead (Firefly264)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Pesterlog, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-16
Updated: 2014-11-17
Packaged: 2018-02-25 14:29:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2625167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firefly264/pseuds/liaw-mostlydead
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three times Jade was taken care of, and one time she took care of somebody else.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Becquerel (and Dave)

**Author's Note:**

> sickfics are my weakness sorry

On an island in the middle of the Pacific, in a house that once belonged to a famed explorer and eccentric, a young girl of eleven years has just woken up with a cold.

Jade Harley likes to think she has a pretty good immune system, having grown up in the wild jungles of her island, and her grandfather having insisted on vaccinating her against pretty much every possible disease at a young age. But everyone has to get sick sometimes, right?

With a groan she reaches over for another tissue, blowing her stuffy nose only to have the action drive yet another spike into her skull. She hears her computer beep and releases a low whine of protest.

“Beeeccc,” she calls, and in a flash of electric green light her loyal canine stands beside her bed, resting his head on her arm. She smiles and scratches behind his ears. “Can you bri’g me my computer?”

He woofs quietly in assent and flashes the laptop into her lap. Good dog, best friend.

Becquerel has been responsible for most of the stuff in her room reaching her today. He flashes up food and medicine from downstairs, and when the chills start he hops up onto her bed and lets her curl around him so she can finally get some sleep.

But before she can think about napping, she needs to answer her friend! It wouldn’t do to let them worry.

turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering gardenGnostic [GG] at [10:11 AM]  
TG: yo harley you got a minute  
TG: or are you out with becky-boy the canine wonder or whatever his name is  
TG: what do you even do all day dont you live on an island like a wild child or something  
TG: cause thats sweet and all but i was kinda hoping you would have some real world advice  
TG: yes even the great dave strider needs advice sometimes please try not to faint from shock  
TG: are you even getting these messages or should i come back later  
GG: wait dave!! im here!!  
GG: sorry i didnt answer right away, im kind of sick and out of it right now :(  
TG: aw man that sucks  
GG: oh, its okay, just a cold! ill be fine.  
GG: what did you want to ask me?  
TG: well johns birthday is coming up you know  
TG: and he got me these deliciously ironic ben stiller shades for my bday a few months ago  
TG: so obviously i have to get him something at least equally as awesome  
TG: but what to you get for a derp who has everything  
TG: i was thinking something ironically vintage like a mixtape or some shit with a bunch of movie soundtracks  
TG: but i dont think hed be able to properly appreciate the intricacies of the gifts ironies  
TG: help me obi-wan youre my only hope  
GG: well im not sure how much help i can be but ill try my best!  
GG: i was gonna get him an autographed poster or something, but it sounds like you want your present to be EXTRA SUPER AMAZING!!!  
GG: he got you movie prop glasses right? but movies are mostly johns thing so maybe you should get something related to what you like and then you can share that with him!  
TG: jade harley you are a fucking genius  
TG: new question do you think johnnyboy would appreciate a preserved dog fetus or…  
GG: ew dave!!!!! eeeeewwwwww!!!!!!!!!!  
TG: yeah youre probably right  
TG: no one seems to appreciate my collection  
TG: well ill go see what else ive got so ill talk to you later  
TG: feel better  
GG: thanks, ill try my best! Bye dave :D:D:D:D  
turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering gardenGnostic [GG] at [10:26 AM]

Jade sighs and slumps back into her pillow, allowing Bec to flash the computer back to her desk and chugging down the glass of water on her bedside table. Sneezing violently, she pats the mattress beside her and Bec hops up. Together, the two of them nap for a few hours, only waking when Bec reminds her to take her cold medicine.

It’s lonely, growing up in her grandfather’s empty house with a dog. But he takes good care of her.


	2. John

Halfway through the second year of an impossible journey, Jade Harley falls ill once more.

“Shouldn’ godhood like, boost ad immune system or somethi’g?” she grumbles to herself, huddled on her bed wrapped in blankets. She had woken up feeling terrible, unable to breathe through her nose or think past the pounding in her head, and this has persisted until now, the middle of what the clocks all say is the afternoon (not like there’s much of a way to tell time otherwise in the gap between universes).

Two sharp raps on the door sound like shot guns and her white ears flatten against her head. It creaks open and John pushes his way in, carrying a tray in his hands and wearing a sympathetic smile.

“I could hear you coughing from down the hall. I thought you might want something for your throat.”

He sets the tray down on her bedside table and places a steaming mug of…. something into her hands. She takes a sip and oh wow, the relief is almost immediate. It’s an herbal blend, kind of like what she would make from her garden at home, and there’s a hint of sugary sweetness and honey. She gulps down half of it immediately and sighs happily, though her chest still aches with every deep breath. She thinks to breathe in the steam and yes, _that’s_ it, that’s so much better already.

“This is amazing,” she says, and John chuckles, cheeks tinting pink. 

“It’s Nanna’s ‘remedy’, actually. She also made some soup if you think you can stomach it.” 

Jade grins and nods. “You sure do know how to take care of a girl,” she teases, watching him with amusement as he goes bright red. 

He does, though; he’s been checking on her periodically all day. He had even held back her hair as she heaved into the toilet (he had looked understandably disgusted and stood as far away as he could all the while, but she appreciated the gesture). She couldn’t have asked for a better brother, or a better person to be with on this ship for three years. This care does make her miss Bec something awful, though. 

“You’d do the same for me,” he rationalizes.

“I bight have to,” she rebukes with a raised brow. “You should be careful not to ged sick yourself.” With a groan she sets the mug aside and flops back down into her pillows, flinging her arms over her face. “This fucking suuuuuuuucks.”

John shakes his head at her and clucks his tongue. “I know, I know. Do you want the soup or not?”

She peers up at him pitifully through the crook of her elbow. “…Yes please.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> john gets sick a week later, though he gets over it much faster, to jade's chagrin


	3. Betas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is kind of different from the others. also, it alludes to space girl shenanigans from some of the latest upd8s

On a stone slab on a mountain, a Witch revives with a gasp and a wracking, crushing cough. 

Red-blue-yellow flashes and crowds around her, supporting her, petting her hair and pulling her hands away from her throat (Ö͇̞̞̠́᷆᷆B̛̞̞᷄ͫ͜͞-E̞͚͍̞̟ͫ̆Y̞͔̝̞͐͐͂ _claws digging into warm flesh_ ̵̞̦̭̞͌͗S̢̞̞ͧ̍͗̈Ủ̶᷿̹̞̫̹̞̝͈̇̌͒̍͝B̴̢̗̞̲᷿̞̣͎᷅͛̃͢͝͞M̴̖̞̹̞̒ͨḮ̞͖̞͌̿̕T̖̞̘̞ͮ̓̋̑ nopleasenoÇ̢̜̠͔̦̱̜̍̇ͪ̈́͒̇᷅᷀̽̔̌̚͜͜͠͏̴̨̧̥̯͔᷂̠̳̯̞̱̤̰͉᷿̝͔᷂͂ͯͨ᷾ͯͯ̀᷁᷉ͤ͛᷅̐̈̉᷀̈᷈͟͝O͇̖̗̱̞͙̩ͮͥ͗ͥ̆̽᷾᷃̈́ͣ̿̽͜ͅ͏̸̵̦̫̣̯̙̤̥̱̤͓̬̤̦ͥ̄ͮ̉̒᷀́᷇᷄̽̓͌̂̍ͥ̋᷇̀ͯ͋̎̓͘̚͠͞Ņ̶̴̶̷̴̡̛̗͕̫̱̹̜̼̟̩̫̯̩̯̳̪̩̱᷿᷊͕̪͖ͩ̈̽ͦ̉̋̅ͬ͂ͣͧ̅ͧ̄͋ͪͮͬ͒ͤ͒ͯ̒᷁̒̉̅͗̕͢͞ͅͅS̶̨̡̢̼͓͔̟̦͍̼̫̱̠̺̖̯̣̟̹̱͓̭̦᷿᷊̙̗̓᷉ͯ̂̌̽᷇͂͂᷇᷀̂̎̄ͪ᷾ͩ͑͋ͦͯ̑͒᷀ͧͥͥ̊᷀᷉͜͞͡͞ͅU̴̸̵̷̸̲̟̱̳̺̘͉̹̪̯͖͚̽̄͛ͯ᷇᷁̍̆᷈̐̋̇᷇̅᷉᷆̀͛ͮͩ̊ͬ͟͟ͅ͏̢̞̪̱͓̝͙͎̑͛᷅ͤͭ͗̓ͦ͑͐͗̒M̲͎̰̥̹ͧ̾͏̴̢͍͇̱̮͎̬͖̲͕͍̯̤̜͓͖᷇᷆̇̓̇͌ͣ᷄̎̈͋᷈̅͊̌̌͢͜͜͠͏̥̱͕̮̰ͪͮ͏̷̸᷿͍͍̮̰͕͇͒͑́̅̓͟͢͡Ē͍̲᷇̐̔̉ͩ̊᷈͞͏̡̛̩̱̣̤̼̹̲̝͔̱̯͔̣͔̣̝̘̠̠̪͈̻̱̻̝̜͖̏͛᷀̋͋ͬ͂ͯ̂̐̀᷈᷃̓̎ͧ᷇̊͂̑ͩ͂̐͐͂̕͢͠͞ͅ ), and she can’t breathe she needs to go back _let go_ -

Her chest spasms, and she chokes before she’s pinned against a warm chest and cool (weak, flickering) cyan light flows through her, fixing what her resurrection for some reason had not and clearing blood from her airways. She draws in a deep, shuddering breath, her head lolling back and her eyes barely open and glassy. 

It’s loud and bright, and there are hands on her face and someone holding her, but she’s so _tired_ , can’t they see? She just wants to go back and write an ending with Callie. She wants to go back to not remembering, because if she manages to open her eyes she’ll see the carnage she caused, and she doesn’t know how to deal with knowing that she hurt her friends. 

It’s loud right next to her, voices she doesn’t know coming from somewhere too close for comfort and is anyone else cold? It’s freezing, and she thought there was lava or something nearby, but she’s still shivering. 

“You fucking-“

“-you broke something, this isn’t right-“

“-can you hear me? Jade-“

“-cold and shaking, I think she’s-“

They lift her and she whines, trying to wriggle out of their grip, but they have a strong hold on her and easily catch her before she falls. 

They take her away, somewhere dark and dank that smells unpleasantly like formaldehyde and mold. She coughs and groans, curling in on herself when finally they set her down, and it’s warm and soft and she lets herself shake until she drifts away…

She wakes up a day later and her friends hold her for a long, long time. She was babbling, incoherent and trembling after they brought her back, and she apologizes over and over again for fucking up, but they won’t hear any of it. 

“’S not your fault,” Dave says, resting his chin on top of her head as she curls up against him. John’s on one side toying with her hand, Rose is on the other braiding a few locks of her hair. She nods and shivers, curling in towards her boys. The Seer wraps a blanket around the four of them.

The chill stays for days, as do the headaches and the occasional coughing fits. But she’s got her friends to take care of her, so it’s okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah this one was weird and relies on a couple weird headcanons/theories of mine to explain certain aspects


	4. Karkat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jade finally plays caretaker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this got really out of hand and unbelievably shippy. i'm almost sorry  
> (an unbelievable, beautifully happy post-game scenario)

On a new planet of a new universe, a troll has fallen ill.

“Guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.”

“Don’t hurt your throat.” Jade reprimands as she pushes the door open with her hip and sets a tray down beside the bed. “We want you back to ranting and shouty soon.”

“No,” Karkat says, voice weak and raspy from coughing. “No, this is a fucki’g neber-endi’g plague. I’b gonna die, slowly ad wid no dignidy.” 

She rolls her eyes and pushes his hair off his forehead and presses her hand to his skin. Still feverish, she notes, and she pets him for a minute, sitting on the edge of the bed and smiling softly as he rolls onto his side and curls around her. 

He had scared the hell out of her when he first got sick. She wasn’t even sure exactly when he started getting sick, because he had been stubborn and refused to stop and take care of himself, choosing instead to keep trying to run their little village and rebuild society by himself. He’d just collapsed one day, seemingly out of nowhere, his whole body spasming as he tried to cough up a lung or two, right there on the ground in front of what they called Town Hall. 

The next four days had been a rotating shift of people watching him toss and turn as he slept, and hallucinate when he didn’t (Gamzee had nearly snapped halfway through day two, when Karkat started screaming for him). 

“You’re fever’s starting to break,” she tells him, careful to keep her voice soft. “How are you feeling?”

He shifts just enough to glare at her, but it’s not nearly as intense as look as usual and he seems to know it. 

“Like shit. Where’d Gamzee go? Is he sleepi’g fidally?”

She grins; he’s always so set on looking out for his people, even as sick as he is. 

“Rose managed to wrangle him into a ‘coon about an hour ago,” she tells him, and he releases a sigh of tension and goes back to trying to wrap all the way around her like a snake.

She shifts, and he makes an unhappy chirring sound and tries to latch onto her waist. Jade freezes in place.  
Her hand is still resting in the space between his horns.

“You need to eat,” she chides. “You’ll feel better, trust me.”

He grunts and burrows his face deep into her side. She experimentally moves to rub the base of one of his horns, and he tenses momentarily before all the tension in his body floods out of him and he purrs loudly. It’s a raspy, entirely inhuman sound, but it’s one of absolute bliss, and she finds herself enraptured by it.

_He’s still sick_ , part of her whispers. _He doesn’t know what he’s doing._

_But it’s so nice_ , says another little voice in the back of her mind. 

She carefully adds just a bit more pressure and watches as he melts into a gooey, content puddle of Karkat. Her other hand moves almost of its own accord, brushing her fingertips along the slope of his jaw, tracing his thin, chapped lips, and following the hollow of his cheek to his temple. He’s so _alien_ , his grey hide smooth and tough to her touch, his hair coarse and wiry, and god, the _sounds_ he makes sometimes. They’re inhuman and strange, and she thought she’d heard some odd ones when he would growl and click and skree mid-rant, but those have nothing on the discontented whines and pleased purring, or the strange chirr-chuff when he’s somewhere between exasperated and affectionate. He’s been so much happier since they won, and happier still now that their little town is well on its way to completion and everyone is settling in. 

And he seems pleased as punch to curl around her like a giant housecat and butt his horns against her leg with a sleepy hum of protest as she stops petting. 

She’s noticed all of these things, all these quirks and idiosyncrasies as he takes charge and leads. He looks so right leading others, in his element. She realizes that she’s been watching him, closely, looking for… what? 

It’s not important. 

She smiles softly and chucks his chin gently. He growls and looks up through his lashes, his eyes still half-lidded and glassy. 

“Do you want some food or what?” she asks, and he whines and headbutts her again, this time in the side. 

“Noooooo.” 

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Karkat, _eat the damn soup_.”

“Fuck, _fide!_ ”

She helps him sit up, shoving a mountain of pillows behind him for support, and plops the tray down in his lap. He glares at it sullenly, picking up the spoon and poking at a floating chuck of chicken. 

She sighs, completely exasperated, and stands beside the bed with her hands on her hips until he finally cracks under her gaze and takes a bite.

“Ca’t even taste adythi’g,” he whines. He takes another bite. 

“Yeah, well, it’s good for you,” she says. “So suck it up.”

Satisfied that he’s eating without a sign of stopping, she starts bustling around, picking up old dishes and straightening the books on the nightstand. 

“That’s quite a collection you’ve got going here. Is it all Alternian?”

The bowl is already empty, and he peers up at her with the spoon still sticking out of his mouth and shrugs. 

Oh fuck, he’s adorable. She kind of wants to gather him up and never let go of him until he’s 100% better, and maybe pinch his cheeks a little bit. 

She picks up a book at random and flips to a random page. _Well, that’s certainly English_ , she thinks. 

It’s a book of poetry, from what she can see, and as she flips through she notices pages filled with highlighted stanzas. She grins as she hears him sputter and cough behind her. 

“Fuck, no, stay out of by stuff you crazy hag what the fuck are you doi’g?!”

She turns back to him, book in hand. 

“I didn’t realize you were such a romantic, Karkat!”

He’s red as a tomato and a shit ton louder, but wisely shuts up when his breath starts to catch in his chest. Jade sits back down beside him (on the chair this time, she’s not tempting the fates by trying to give him another horn-rub-snuggle combo right now) and moves the empty tray to the floor. 

She pounds him on the back when he hunches forwards and starts coughing. It’s a horrible sound, like something is tearing apart inside of him, but all she can do is wait it out and try to make it as easy on him as possible. 

By the time he’s finished, he’s hacked something into a tissue ( _that_ goes straight into the trash because yuck, gross), and he seems to be breathing a bit easier. He slumps back into his pillows, but doesn’t try to stop himself as he slides to the side. She pulls him upright again, and he just tilts his head back and tries to catch his breath again. He’s exhausted. 

She sits and watches him for a moment, and comes to the decision that she should probably stick around a while longer. At least until Gamzee comes back, because he’ll totally be right here as soon as he’s deemed ‘well-rested’ enough. 

She settles into her chair and starts reading. If she accidentally starts reading aloud – out of habit, of course; she’s just filling the silence – and Karkat nestles deeper into the bed with a somewhat content sigh, well.

That’s none of our business.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> headcanon karkat is absolutely miserable to be around when sick, but also turns out to be a total snuggleslut.  
> i was totally gonna add sappy love poems but i figured i should save that for another fic.

**Author's Note:**

> dave hardly did anything but she appreciates him anyway


End file.
